The French Illusion

Title: The French Illusion
Author: John Grisham
Published: September 29, 2026 by Doubleday
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
Genre: Thriller

Blurb: After Paul and Chelsea Tanner’s fairytale wedding, their future is full of promise. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a dark, shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. Who would target them, and why? It turns out this is not the first crime of its kind. The search for clues soon stretches across borders, with the FBI, CIA, and French Intelligence trying to work together to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Struggling to find answers, a young lawyer is recruited to be the bait in an elaborate CIA operation.

My Opinion: From the start, I happily settled into that familiar Grisham groove: good pacing, clean writing, a little history tucked into the corners, and that slow‑burn sense that something bigger is humming underneath. And honestly, I thought I had him pegged this time. I had my own theory about what the “illusion” really meant, convinced it was an inside job. Then I started doing the math, and… yeah, no. I was very wrong.

That’s part of the fun with his books, though. He’s great at building a story under the story, pushing you toward one conclusion while quietly laying the groundwork for something else entirely. The history lessons are there, the political shadows are there, and every so often you get one of those lines that makes you wonder if he’s slipping in a covert warning about real‑world dangers we’re not fully aware of. Torture, Gitmo, government muddiness where none of it was subtle, and it’s hard not to wander into the familiar “Okay, how much of this is fiction and how much is the kind of truth that only shows up in fiction because it can’t show up anywhere else”?

As for the characters… I didn’t like any of them. Not one. But I’m pretty sure that was the purpose. They aren’t built to be liked; they’re built to carry information, to move the pieces on the board, to make you pay attention to the machinery rather than the people caught in it. And in that sense, they work.

Where the book stumbled for me was the ending. Compared to the rest of the novel, it felt rushed and a little too convenient. After all that buildup, I wanted something more dangerous and earned.

Still, even with the ending wobble, this is classic Grisham in the way that matters: a story that entertains on the surface while quietly asking bigger questions underneath. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe I’m not. But that’s the thing with books like this: we each walk away with a different illusion shattered.

The Last Page Cafe

Title: The Last Page Cafe
Author: Kate Storey
Published: March 12, 2026 by Avon
Format: Kindle, 384 Pages
Genre: Women's Fiction

Blurb: Sometimes the last page is just the beginning… At fifty-four, Erin McRae feels like she’s been living in the margins of her own story. Ever since she inherited her late mother’s café, The Bookmark, she’s been stuck in a comfortable routine. Her greatest escape is the mismatched book club she founded, bound together by one unusual they choose their next book based solely on the last page.

But when a book’s final words hit too close to home, Erin and her fellow members begin to see their own lives reflected in unexpected ways. As the club’s discussions grow deeper, long-buried secrets surface, old wounds start to heal, and romance leaps off the page. With The Bookmark under threat of closure, Erin must ask can she write herself a happier story?

A heartwarming novel about friendship, second chances, and the surprising ways stories shape our lives.

My Opinion: This novel has one of those vibes that makes you settle in with a warm mug of something, where found family is key, and where every chapter, every character moment, every slightly chaotic book club meeting has the kind of comfort chosen family can bring. And speaking of that book club, these folks read “the last page first” to decide whether a book is worth the effort. I mean, that is a bold choice. I’m not saying it would work for everyone, but I did have a moment of “Wait, we’re just doing that now?”

The narrative leans heavily on miscommunication, which is usually one of my least favorite tropes. But here, it’s woven into the characters’ insecurities and hopes rather than used as cheap drama. It still made me want to gently shake a few people, but in that affectionate “please talk to each other” way.

Then there’s the new guy in town, the one who waltzes in and shakes up the book club’s balance. Of course he becomes the love interest; that’s practically his job description. But what I appreciated is that he’s not the only person worth paying attention to. Every member of this club has their own backstory, dreams, and their own little emotional corners. It’s a full ensemble, not a spotlight on one romance.

Book lovers will enjoy all the literary references, from modern fiction to classics, tucked into conversations. And true to Kate Storey’s style, this is firmly in the women’s fiction lane with no cussing, I can recall, and absolutely no spice unless you count a kiss or a “they spent the night together” mention.

This is my second Kate Storey novel, with the first being ‘The Forgotten Book Club’, which I liked just a touch more, but this one still delivered that comforting, heartfelt reading experience she’s so good at. And with another book coming in early 2027, there’s plenty of time to catch up if you’ve missed any of her earlier books. I’ll be there, ready for more found‑family chaos and bookish charm.

The Lightning Thief

Title: The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
Published: May 2, 2009 by Disney Hyperion
Format: Paperback, 396 Pages
Genre: Mythology
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1

Blurb: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school, again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed in his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

My Opinion: You know that feeling when a book has been quietly sitting on your shelf for years, and then one day it just leaps into your hands like, “Alright, it’s time, get on with it”? That was this novel for me. Honestly, I enjoyed it way more than I expected. It’s one of those reads where you think, “Oh, this will be cute,” and then suddenly you’re fully invested, talking to a 12-year-old boy like an overly involved aunt.

Percy’s introduction to mythology is exactly the kind of chaotic, wide-eyed journey you want from a middle schooler who’s just found out his dad is an Olympian god. He’s confused, frustrated, occasionally enlightened, and constantly trying to figure out why monsters keep showing up at the worst possible moments. And the best part? He’s brave in that very pre-teen way, with equal parts “I’ve got this” and “Wait, what?” then charging into danger with a loyal friend and a goat who’s doing his absolute best in a pair of sneakers.

The humor is spot-on, the lessons sneak up on you, and the whole thing has that breezy, middle-grade energy that still works beautifully for adult readers. I kept catching myself muttering warnings to Percy, “Sweetie, no, that’s obviously a trap”, but of course, he never listens. He’s too busy saving the world and learning who he is.

Will I continue the series? Absolutely. But I’m not rushing it. This feels like one of those journeys you savor, especially knowing Percy grows up across the books and the tone shifts into a more young-adult space. I’m ready to watch him grow, just not in a binge-read blur. Some quests deserve a little breathing room.

The Dying Light

Title: The Dying Light
Author: Ann Cleeves
Published: September 29, 2026 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, 384 Pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: Two Rivers #4

Blurb: A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived in Devon a few days ahead of the family to celebrate the end of their school exams, and had managed to make waves during their short time there; they disrupted the folk music festival at the neighboring farm, with Lottie posting incendiary videos on social media mocking what she snobbishly considered to be a parochial community.

When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star, a fact that quickly draws intense media scrutiny to the case, not least because there are many who would want to take him down. With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have more connections with the Armstrong family than first thought.

Caught between a powerful family's secrets and a powder keg of local tensions, Venn and his team must navigate a treacherous path. He knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silence that they keep

My Opinion: I’ve been hooked on this series since book one, and ‘The Dying Light’ reinforces why Ann Cleeves is one of those writers who can pull you straight into a story and keep you there, no matter how many characters, secrets, or tangled relationships she throws at you. Her writing has that quiet magnetism, with nothing flashy, just steady, confident storytelling that makes you forget you meant to stop after one chapter.

And honestly? You don’t have to start at the beginning of the series. Cleeves is good at giving you what you need as you go. But if you do start from book one, you’ll catch some dynamics that are nice to have for reference.

Early on, you’re pretty sure you know who’s responsible for the deaths of two young women. Cleeves practically hands you a suspect on a platter. But she’s sneaky. Oh, so sneaky, and she leads you down a path that feels so plausible you don’t question it. That is until you suddenly realize you were completely, and gloriously, wrong. That’s the magic of her plotting. She doesn’t yank the rug out from under you; she quietly rotates the view until you’re facing something you didn’t notice before.

This town is drowning in secrets. Too many people hiding too many things, and it’s up to Venn, Rafferty, May, and the rest of the team to sort through lies. Half the folks they interview seem to be protecting someone, or something, and you can’t help wondering what exactly this community is trying so hard to keep buried.

Meanwhile, Matt Venn is stuck in his own head about his relationship with his husband. There are hints of big changes coming, but it’s a gentle subplot that’s just enough to remind you these characters have lives outside the investigation, without ever pulling your attention too far from the central mystery.

Despite the crowd of characters and interwoven relationships, I found this a fast, absorbing read. I was happily wrong in all my early theories, and I loved the book all the way through to the final chapters. Cleeves delivers a twisty, satisfying mystery that rewards your attention and keeps you turning pages even when you think you’ve got it all figured out.